Come forth! part 5

 John 11:43-44 “When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’” 
 

Just think of Lazarus in the tomb. He had been in there for four days – dead, just lying there. When, suddenly, life comes back to him and he hears Jesus say, “Lazarus, come forth!” He came out, still wrapped in his grave cloths. He didn’t fix himself up first – it seems he didn’t take any time to catch his breath – he came out just as he was. How would you respond to that? How would you respond to God performing a miracle for you? 
 

Here is my point: some people might not really want to receive the miracle they are asking for because by now they are known for their request. They are known as the person with that disease, or the person with that mate, or the person with that troubled home, and that has become their identity. They get to walk around with a “woe is me” persona. And if God really answered their prayer, it would change everything about them. Some people desperately need a miracle, but instead have come to affectionately embrace their situation and their lot in life. 
 

I’ve mentioned my Pastor friend, Ron Auch, before. He’s gone to be with Jesus now, but a number of years ago, he wrote a book called, “Prayer can Change Your Marriage.” Once, when I met him for lunch, he commented to me, Since my first book, “Prayer Can Change Your Marriage, came out, I can’t tell you how many women I have counseled about their ungodly husbands – only to find out that once their husband got saved, the wife didn’t know how to handle it. Some of them actually struggled with it. They used to be the spiritual leader; now how are they going to give that up? They used to be the only one who would take the kids to church. They used to be the martyr in the home… Now they’ve lost that identity, too. Now they have to listen to their husband give the family devotions each day – and what does he know?” 

I realized that at some point Jesus said to these women – Come Forth, and He brought life to their situation – He raised up a dead husband and he came to life in disarray, still having his grave cloths on – ready to move on with life in Christ. But the wife is not ready to come forth – because her hair is a mess, she feels scruffy; she needs a little time to figure out how this is going to work before she can just come forth. She begins to give all sorts of excuses as to why she can’t really receive this miracle. Jesus says, “Just die to your reputation, and get out here. Come forth! Do you want to be healed? Do you really want this thing you are asking for?” 
 

Jesus said to Mary and Martha, “If you believe you will see the glory of God. Just believe. Stop making excuses. Stop trying to figure it out. Just believe.” The only way we can receive the very thing we need is to set aside the excuses and believe. Your circumstances do not make a difference to God; He has never been hindered by anything other than unbelief. And in those cases, He chose not do to any miracles because God would not have been glorified through them. He says to us today, “If you believe you will see the glory of God.” This is all about God’s glory. It’s not about the miracle; it’s about the glory of God. If we believe, we will see our miracle, and God will receive the glory. END